Ash Covered Roses
by Totalgeek19
Summary: Marceline meets an intriguing princess, but can she learn to trust again? Bubbline fanfic which explains about Marceline's past, exists as much in the Adventure Time universe as possible. Rated M just in case, has some darker themes running throughout.


A/N: This is my first multi-chapter fanfiction, and I'm not sure how long it's going to end up being. Their meeting is right after the Evicted episode where Marceline comes back from "vacation", and goes from there. Not really an AU, I'll try to stay as much within the actual Adventure Time universe as possible. Hope you enjoy!

The pink girl hurried down the stairs, jumping two at a time. Her only thought - her only wish - was that the object she was racing to get was actually located in the castle. Peppermint Butler rounded the sloped corner, carrying her nightly tea tray towards the upstairs. "Princess, I have your-" The monarch knocked him aside, the tray scattering to the floor and tea spilling everywhere.

"Not now Peppermint! Find me red food and objects," she yelled behind her, still leaping down the stairs.

"But princess-"

"Now!"

She continued her journey, still not moving as fast as she wanted. In an act of desperation Bubblegum hopped onto the banister, sliding down the stairs at an alarmingly fast pace. Thrown off, she managed to regain her steps and bolted down the hall into her laboratory. The princess tore through her cabinets - roughly searching through bottles, beakers, and containers until finally pulling a small crimson-filled vile from the back of a cabinet. "Found it!" Without so much as another word she tore back up the stairs, bursting through the double doors of her royal chambers and rushing to the bed.

A still figure lay there, skin rough and blistered, eyes half shut, and long black hair littered with twigs and dirt. The sight brought tears to Bubblegum's eyes, but the fear in her heart kept her moving. She quickly popped the cork on the small vile and lifted the vampire's head to pour the potion into her slack mouth. For a moment nothing happened, and the pink girl's breath hitched with the thought of never again seeing the girl in her arms smirk.

With a great jolt the vampire's eyes flashed open: their color a blazing red. She jerked away from the pink girl's touch, hair flaring above her head and fangs bared as she looked around the room in confusion, anger, and fear. "Marceline!" The vampire queen froze, her hair falling limp, her eyes returning to their normal black. She turned to see her girlfriend breathing heavily: a look a pure fear in her eyes. "It's okay. You're okay."

The undead girl met her princess' stare, eyes wide, before darting back to Bubblegum's side and wrapping her arms around the living girl's waist. Her body shuddered with a dry sob once, then became still, gripping Bubblegum like she would never let go. "Bonnie... I thought I wouldn't see you again," she mumbled into the pink girl's stomach. The princess held her vampire queen close, eyes closed, kissing the top of her head and thanking glob the potion had worked.

"I'm here. I'm right here."

Earlier that year:

Stupid. That's what this whole gathering was: stupid. The royals hadn't met in this large of numbers in decades - how did the other monarchs even know of the vampire queens existence? Who had decided to invite the one woman responsible for the havoc caused in most kingdoms over the years to a gathering of Ooo's greatest leaders? The whole thing was pointless, and as Marceline floated closer and closer to the castle she continued to reiterate that point to herself.

The castle was large and bright - made up of some sort of candy just like the rest of the kingdom she was in. The pastel colors and bustling happy people made Marceline immediately dislike the place, and she made a mental mote to herself to come play some pranks on this kingdom after the meetings for the weekend had concluded. Pulling the brim of her large sunhat down, she knocked on the large doors and waited to be received into this conference of fools. Within no time the doors were flung open, revealing a small peppermint candy butler. "Why, you must be Queen Abadeer!" He bowed quickly, his high pitched voice and bubbly appearance immediately annoying the vampire.

"I am... And my my what delicious red stripes you have there..." In a flash she pounced, fangs bared and poised to strike. As she leaned down to drink her fill from the protesting candy man, a slender pink hand reached out to stop her.

"Queen Abadeer, that is considered quite distasteful here in the candy kingdom. Especially at a royal gathering."

Marceline looked up from her prey to see an elegantly dressed bubblegum girl staring her down. The appearance of this particular candy person surprised her, and she found her interest piqued by the seemingly perfect royal standing before her. "...and you are?"

"Princess Bubblegum of the Candy Kingdom. Would you kindly put my butler down? We can exchange pleasantries at length once you free him."

Smirking, the vampire released her hold on the squirming peppermint man and he crashed to the ground with a thunk before hurrying away in fright. "Whatever you say princess... You're the boss." The sarcastic tone in Marceline's voice was not missed by the pink monarch, and she raised her eyebrows a degree before curtsying formally.

"A pleasure to finally make your acquaintance Queen Abadeer-"

"Please, a pretty thing like you can call me Marceline," the vampire interrupted with a debonair smile. The princess, obviously unaccustomed to such tones and language, momentarily seemed flustered. A light blush rose in her cheeks.

"Marceline then. It is a pleasure nonetheless. I've been attempting to contact you for some time-"

"I was out. Taking a vacation. Trying out new things."

The constant interruptions further confused the princess, and she took a deep breath before continuing - a slight tone of annoyance in her voice.

"That's very nice, but I must stress that your presence here is quite important."

"So you're the one who invited me?"

"Yes of course. I gathered all the royals you see here and have been desiring to do so for the last four years."

"How did you even know about me? I haven't exactly been around much in the last decade."

"Some of the older royals were discussing a vampire queen... I thought you would want to defend yourself against the things they were saying."

Marceline raised her eyebrows in amusement. "What exactly were they saying?"

The pink princess faltered, a worried look crossing her face. "Well, uh, it's not exactly my place to discuss..." Her voice trailed off as the vampire queen leaned in closer, eyes narrowed.

"What did they say?" Her words were clear and over pronounced, making her point clear. The pink girl swallowed in slight fear.

"Many kingdoms in Ooo do not think that highly of you, for some reason..." She began in an even tone. "...and I aim to fix that. But in order to do so I need you to be on your best behavior. And that means no devouring my subjects or anyone else's."

The strange tension caused by Marceline's proximity held for a moment as the vampire continued to stare down the pink princess. The shade of fear in those black irsis' intrigued Marceline, and she internally wondered what it was about this girl that made her so interesting. For all intensive purposes she should want to avoid the monarch who ruled such a happy and pastel cursed land, but instead she found herself drawn to the smaller pink girl. She decided to explore this strange pull, and leaned back to smirk at the frightened princess. "If you think that's best, Miss Priss." The pink girl's brow furrowed at the nickname, and glared at the vampire queen in front of her.

"It's Bonnibel, if you must," she said quietly. Turning on her heel, she beckoned for the vampire queen to follow her into the large ballroom.

"Bonnibel..." Marceline whispered under her breath, trying out the name on her tongue. It sounded good. With a smile she floated after the royal, deciding that perhaps this summit was worth something after all.


End file.
